Why roll over a foam cylinder after exercise, and what are the physical benefits?
The bumpy foam covered cylinder you may see in gyms is called a foam roller, it is a very basic and simple piece of equipment to use, meaning you can’t go too wrong with it. It has many physical benefits post exercise on your muscles. The objective of the foam roller, is to act a self-massager using your own body weight to add or take away pressure on targeted limbs. The foam roller is a quick and mobile way to target muscles, acting as a myofascial release massage normally performed by therapists or physio therapists.
During different frequency, intensity and duration of exercise our bodies can start to feel discomfort, pain and tightness. Foam rolling has shown to be more effective than static and dynamic stretching, but is not used to improve muscle strength (Chu et al., 2017:469). It also aids in recovery for our muscles and increases rand of motion (ROM), improves flexibility and aids in blood flow (Sullivan et al., 2013:228). After a hard gym session we all start to feel a discomfort / tightness 12-24 hours post exercise in the targeted muscles, this is called delayed onset of muscle soreness (DOMS). Foam rolling has results to reduce DOMS after intense exercise, meaning less discomfort and quicker recovery to hit the gym again. (Bush-Joseph et al., 2012:255)
There are many forms of foam rollers for example, low-density rollers, firm foam rollers, medium foam rollers and bumpy foam rollers. Low-density foam rollers are predominantly used in exercise classes or for clients with sensitive or sore muscles. Due to the low-density of the rollers, pain wont be felt so bad compared to the bumpy rollers. It would be worth starting on a low-density roller and then building up the harder rollers. This roller is very light, making it easier for travel, but one down side to the low-density roller is the material its made out of, although its soft and consistent all over, the roller will (over time) start to leave an indent and become less effective due to this. The firm and medium rollers will be perfect if you are looking to move on from the low-density roller to get a more intense and deeper form of self-massage. These rollers will not leave indents due to the harder material, and continue to be light enough for travel. The final foam roller is the bumpy roller, this roller targets trigger point and knots in muscle’s due to the nodules and different patterns on the cylinder, giving more of a intense and precise self-massage. This roller is usually hollow and made of a strong material to hold a lot of weight, it also continues to stay light for travel purposes. This roller can be used from athletes post exercise to anyone with desk job or statuary job, the roller will help to loosen tight muscles quick and easily.
The foam roller has shown to be very beneficial in recovery post exercise, and also a simple bit of equipment to use. So why not give it ago next time you are in the gym, roll over the muscle you want to target for around 30-60second and change intensity to what suits you best and repeat.
References:
Sullivan, K., Behm, D., Button, D. and Silvey, D. (2013) ROLLER‐MASSAGER APPLICATION TO THE HAMSTRINGS INCREASES SIT‐AND‐REACH RANGE OF MOTION WITHIN FIVE TO TEN SECONDS WITHOUT PERFORMANCE IMPAIRMENTS. International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy. Vol. 8, No. 3: 228-236. [Online] Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3679629/ [accessed 15 May 2019].
Chu, I., Guo, L., Wu, W., Chang, N. and Su, H. (2017) Acute Effects of Foam Rolling, Static Stretching, and Dynamic Stretching During Warm-ups on Muscular Flexibility and Strength in Young Adults . Journal Of Sports Rehabilitation. Vol. 26, No. 6: 469-447. [Online] Available from: https://journals.humankinetics.com/doi/abs/10.1123/jsr.2016-0102 [accessed 15 May 2019].
Bush-Joseph, C., Ruby, D. and Lewis, P. (2012) Muscle Soreness and Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness. Clinics In Sports Medicine . Vol. 31, No. 2: 255-262. [Online] Available from: https://www.sportsmed.theclinics.com/article/S0278-5919(11)00099-8/abstract [accessed 15 May 2019].